DAVAO CITY-A Filipino-owned company has successfully connected the remote islands of Surigao del Norte, including the top-surfing destination of Siargao, starting with four former internet dead spots and allowing live users to seamlessly livestream their tourist activities.
The Cagayan de Oro City-based Community Wireless and Power rolled out its first fiber-backed public network, similar to the ubiquitous Piso Wifi boxes, in four locations in the Municipality of General Luna on Siargao Island ‘targeting the town’s busiest gathering points, several of which sit in cellular dead zones.’
Called the SuperWiFi, it was launched in January this year as its first Philippine rollout in 2,140 remote locations across the country.
The four locations of the SuperWiFi covered the town’s four highest-traffic locations: the farmers and fish market, the boardwalk, the Town Center church and Bravo Resort, which the community said was ‘opening a rollout designed to reach communities throughout the Philippine archipelago.’
‘The launch is the first live service under eSari-Sari, World Mobile’s community distribution program in the Philippines, and the opening stage of a deployment planned across 2,140 locations nationwide,’ it added. ‘Anyone within range of a live AirNode can connect today. Users select the ‘eSariSari WiFi’ network on any phone, tablet or laptop and purchase access starting at P10 for a 7-day pass.
It said a 30-day 5-gigabyte data package starts at P48 but delivers a high-speed internet at rates up to 80 per cent below entry-level packages offered by traditional mobile network operators, and can be paid via GCash, Maya, Visa, Mastercard, Bancnet, load or cash at a host store.
It said access is sold in short-duration passes or daily and weekly bundles with no contract, no credit check and no minimum term.
The company said Surigao del Norte was chosen as the launch market ‘precisely because of what makes it hard to serve: its population is spread across Siargao, Dinagat and dozens of smaller islands, separated by water that makes conventional network economics fail; centralised operators have never had a commercial reason to build there.’
Several of those locations sit in cellular dead zones, it said, where the only connectivity option has been mobile data bought in increments, at a cost that adds up quickly for a household or a market vendor. It said the SuperWiFi gives those areas a fixed, fibre-backed alternative.
What makes it tenable, it said, was that each AirNode ‘is hosted and operated at community level.’
‘Cooperatives, sari-sari stores and local businesses host the hardware, maintain the site and earn a share of the revenue,’ it said.
The Community Wireless and Power said the operation took its inspiration from similar network operations in Pakistan, Zanzibar and the United States. ‘Because access is paid, the money spent on connectivity stays partly within the community that provides it, rather than leaving for a head office in Manila.’
‘For the communities now covered, the change is immediate: students can complete online coursework without travelling to find a signal, small businesses can accept digital payments and reach customers online, and households can access government services, banking and telehealth from home. In an island province, that access also carries a resilience dimension.’ It said.
‘Before SuperWiFi went live, our sari-sari store couldn’t process digital payments or offer steady internet,’ said Maria Santos, local sari-sari store owner and eSari-Sari host in General Luna. ‘Now, tourists stay longer, local families have affordable Wi-Fi, and we generate extra income right from our shop.’
Following initial live rollouts in General Luna and Dapa, deployment has expanded to the Caraga Region (Butuan City) and Region 10 (Cagayan de Oro City).